Various packing materials are known in the art, including rigid blocks of polyurethane and polystyrene foam, and foam beads. There are also many examples of inflatable packaging materials. Representative of these are the following U.S. patent documents:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,240,556; 6,056,119; 5,588,532; 5,620,069; 6,598,373; 5,420,556; 5,445,274; 6,283,296; 6,571,954; 7,168,566; 7,823,729; 7,874,428; and 5,620,096; and U.S. published application 2006/0218879.
Inflated packaging materials have some known advantages. For example, such packaging materials can be stored flat or on rolls and occupy little space before inflation. Likewise, the inflated portions can be deflated after use, for example, by cutting or puncturing, and again occupy little space.
Inflated packages are generally recyclable, and are advantageous in countries and localities that impose strict environmental rules on disposal of packaging materials. Foam packaging materials are generally not recyclable.